NEW Name and NEW Location for the Puget Sound Navy Museum – Bremerton

The long awaited, permanent home of the Puget Sound Navy Museum is now complete and the museum has moved into the beautifully refurbished “Building 50” moved from its former Puget Sound Shipyard site to its new location at 251 First Street.

The New Puget Sound Navy Museum is located next to both the ferry dock and the New Fountain Park, just outside the gate to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

Puget Sound Navy Museum with the sail of the USS Parche to the right

Sail of the USS Parche, US most decorated ship, in front of the Puget Sound Navy Museum with the shipyard in the background

I received a tour this morning from Mary Bowlby, Curatorial Assistant for the Naval Undersea Museum who has been helping with the set up of the new museum.

Mary Bowlby, Curatorial Assistant for the Naval Undersea Museum who helped with the set up of the NEW Puget Sound Navy Museum

The museum is airy, clean and beautiful with large windows with views of downtown Bremerton and the shipyard. The collections, formerly cramped into the old location, are more attractively displayed over two floors.

There are displays on the history of the Navy in Puget Sound as well as rotating displays about current day operations at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The museum makes wonderful use of historic photos, enlarged and displayed as part of many of the exhibits.

Fountain Park with the Fountain Room in the background

To go to the museum you can take the Bremerton Ferry and take a very short walk to First and Pacific – just watch for the large white building. If you drive, parking is a slight challenge but there are both short term street parking and pay lots in the area.

There are also many options for dining, visiting other museums, galleries or shopping nearby within walking distance.

Puget Sound Navy Museum: 360.479.4774

The 1,650 sq ft Fountain Room, operated by the Kitsap Conference Center is a new conference option in downtown Bremerton. Built on the back of the new museum the room has views of Fountain Park, the water, ferries and other marine traffic. I’ll write some more on the new space when I get a chance to attend a meeting there!